Jul 26, 2012

Stallone has cancelled the Israel premiere of EX2, due to changes in his schedule, following the death
of his son Sage two weeks ago.

Stallone, Statham, Van Damme, Willis, and Lundgren were expected in Israel for the movie’s
premiere on August 8.

In an email, a spokesman from the film’s production company explained the cancellation of the premiere.

“I’m sure you heard about the Stallone family’s tragedy that happened
in recent weeks. In response to the unfortunate event we
are forced to cancel our Israel premiere, because Sly will not be able
to attend, as well as the other actors, due to changes in schedule.”

“Please accept our apologies for cancelling at such short notice,” he
added, noting a promise to make it up to Israeli fans. “We will do our
best to bring the actors to Israel at a later date in the future.”

The Israeli news source Maariv quipped sarcastically that the “later
date” mentioned will be for the premiere of the next movie in the
Expendables franchise.

The family of a stuntman who was killed during an explosion on the set of EX2 is suing producers ... claiming they failed to take proper safety precautions during a stunt-gone-wrong in Bulgaria.

According to the lawsuit, Kun Liu
was shooting an action scene that took place on a rubber boat near the
Ognyanovo Reservoir on October 27, 2011. The scene involved the use of
high powered explosives and other "ultra-hazardous activities."

But something went horribly wrong ... and according to the suit, 26-year-old Liu was killed during the filming of the scene.

Liu's
parents blame the production company, Millennium Films, and the stunt
coordinator, Chad Stahelski ... and now they're suing both parties for
wrongful death.

Liu's family believes they should be compensated
for funeral expenses ... and for the loss of their son's "society, love,
comfort, attention, services and support."

Crews participated in NBC’s military
competition “Stars Earn Stripes” and CraveOnline got to ask him about EX2at the Television Critics Association panel.

“I think the coolest part about the new one is that we have a better
rapport,” Crews said. “You get to see a little more of what we are like
together, even in the downtime. Whereas the first one was just action,
action, action, I think people are going to be pleasantly surprised when
they get a little more of our characters, because we didn’t have time
for backstory in the first one. This one, you get to learn a little bit
more about Dolph, Randy, myself and how we interact with Sly and Jason.”

Crews had some backstory for his character, Hale Caesar, in EX1, but he says the sequel script introduced brand new ideas. And let him be funny.

“It was new for me too. They wanted to take it, I thought in a better
direction. It kind of opened things up for me in a lot of ways, took
advantage of my comedic timing. I don’t look at myself as a badass. I’ve
never done that. With comedies I’ve done, all the things, I can’t do
that. But Sly knew how to work with all our gifts and I get a nice hefty
load of some of the comedic stuff.”

Crews says the
sequel came closer to realizing Stallone’s original vision.

“It’s the movie that Sly really wanted to make in the beginning.
Before, he was kind of counted out. He pretty much pulled this whole
thing together and got the grassroots of this thing together in the
first one, but now after it became a hit, became what it was worldwide,
he pretty much had everything he wanted. We pretty much got everything
we wanted. It was crazy. With the addition now of Jean-Claude [Van
Damme] and Chuck Norris, it can only get better.”

Lungren sat down with AskMen for an interview. Here are bits and pieces that pertain to EX2:

On actors who impressed him with their physicality and/or discipline:

"The first one that comes to mind is Sly, Sly Stallone. I was a
competitive athlete when I got in the business, and he was an actor. He
wasn’t in particularly great shape for the first Rocky, but then
he got into very good shape. He’s 66 now, I think, and he’s still in
pretty good shape for his age. More than 99% of everybody else.

[Jean-Claude] has discipline as well. He’s a different personality; he likes to
go out more, but he’s still in good shape. It’s surprising that he is in such good shape if you take into account his lifestyle, or maybe his past lifestyle. A lot of the guys on The Expendables seriesI would say are like that. Terry Crews, he’s in his mid-40s, he’s in terrific shape, you know, Randy Couture…
they’re all older guys, but certainly they would beat most younger guys
at any sport, at any age. I’m impressed by all of them. By working with
these guys, you get a little bit of an inspiration injection. Because
I’m used to being the only older guy. But now I’ve got six or seven more on the set. It makes you feel great, like, there is hope."

On being back to work on an action blockbuster
years and years later with guys he came up with decades ago:

"It’s surreal in one way because it is kind of a throwback movie to the ‘80s and even further back, like The Dirty Dozen --and
we are making fun of ourselves a bit in the movie. For me there’s the
other dimension of working with Stallone 25 years later, and also now
with Arnold, who I knew before I got into films. I was a fighter in New
York, and my girlfriend was in one of his movies way back. I met him
back then.

On how he was spending his downtime between scenes:

"We [were] blowing shit up. Tossing dynamite all over the place. No, when
we’re filming, it’s very professional and work-orientated -- especially
this second movie, because we were shooting in Bulgaria which is really
cold, and we were way too tired to go out and party too much. A lot of
these guys, they look like that for a reason. They don’t go out much;
they don’t party hard and drink and stay up ‘til five in the morning,
but on occasion, we have a few drinks and talk about the past. Sometimes
you work out together which is fun, whether you train together or
you’re in the gym at the same time. It’s certainly different than in 99%
of all other films, where you’re there as a job and you don’t know the
other people and actors on the set, and you don’t have that much in
common. Here, there are a lot of common bonds, which makes it special.

Different countries have different websites for EX2! Did you know that? There are a few main templates though, and one same template is sometimes used in two or three different countries. For instance the American & German EX2 websites use the same template. The EX2 websites in Brazil, Finland & The Netherlands are still using the old American template, and the ones in Japan, Taiwan or Spain use their own templates.

Here's a screenshot of some of the EX2 websites around the world. Which one is the BEST?

Jul 22, 2012

Sylvester Stallone and several close family members mourned the
passing of Sage Stallone today, at a private funeral held in Brentwood,
CA.

The memorial services took place at St. Martin of Tours Catholic
Church. Sylvester Stallone, his wife Jennifer Flavin, and his brother Frank Stallone
were all present.

In a previous statement Sylvester Stallone said, “This agonizing loss will be felt for the rest of our lives. Sage is our first child and the center of our universe and I am
humbly begging for all to have my son’s memory and soul left in peace.”

Our thoughts
are with Sylvester Stallone and his family during this difficult time.

Premiere is one of the most popular Movie Magazines in France. They conducted an interview with Van Damme that was posted on many websites last week. The problem was the interview was obviously published in French and not all fans could read it. Like every thing Expendable it was a matter of time until someone translated the interview for the EX fans and posted it on the web. For those who don't know Mike Frenchy, he's a hell of a guy and does a lot of work to make things available to EX fans. He's done it again and got us the full JCVD interview with Premiere in English! Enjoy the read!

We know 1000% by now that EX2 will be hard "R" rated. But Joblo has had a phone conversation with EX2 director Simon West on the rumor that was surrounding an eventual PG-13 move by the studios back in February 2012, that caused so much grief among the fans. Here's what West had to say about the PG-13 rumor:

"It's a very hard R, actually. The rumor got out - I'm sure there
were some financial people who wanted it to be PG-13 because they
thought it would somehow make more money or have a broader audience, but
there was no way. I mean, when you get these guys on the set, they
can't say a line without putting the F-bomb in it, and they can't pick
up a gun without blowing several limbs off. There was no way this film
could ever work other than an R, because that's just not what it is, and
I think the core audience that loved the first one would just be
outraged if it wasn't an R. It would be so sanitized, and such a weird
version of it. I can't see how it could ever be PG-13. There was a rumor
out there or some pressure out there because somebody thought they
would somehow make it a family movie. It's more a dysfunctional family
movie."

Looks like the movie was supposed to be "R" from the beginning. Hmm, makes me wonder now if we actually fought for nothing???

Jul 16, 2012

I attended the EX II advance screening on July 13th at Camp Pendleton. It will go down as one of the greatest theater going experiences of my life.

I got my seat at around 4 pm. A good 2 hours before the premiere. The place was already packed like sardines. At least 800 in attendance. Primed for this action film event. 15 minutes before the film started, Arnold, Couture, Crews, and Lundgren show up. The place was like a rock concert at that point. Cheers, claps, screams, etc were all given at deafening volume. It's an atmosphere that held up throughout most of the film as well.

This crowd was intensely interactive with what was going on in the film, and I can't blame them. It's the best kind of unpretentious crowd pleasing material. A film that makes jokes about itself and simultaneously embraces its roots. This is tongue in cheek about 80s action cinema like Indiana Jones was about serial adventure films from the 30s - 50s. It's not meant to be taken serious, and is all the more fun for it. The original Expendables felt like it was trying to be too serious with its political subtext. I wasn't a big fan of the original. This eschews all of that to streamline the action and laughs.

Anyway, the film opens with what will go down as one of the best action intros of the year. Many limbs are blown off, various types of bombs are shout out & air dropped, and Li delivers a classic HK style beatdown with a pair of frying pans. It's gloriously violent and nonstop for almost 20 minutes. It's all extremely exhilarating, because it is well directed. Something the original lacked, imo.

The film settles back down for 20 minutes to introduce Hemsworth and Church's new agent that keeps an eye on the team. We also get to see the crew is more laid back with each other this time around. More jokes. More camaraderie. No drug substance problems or problems with the family. These guys are having the time of their lives sharing beers and personal jabs with each other.

That is until a particular member is dispatched by Vilain after their mission is hijacked. The film gets a more serious tone for a few minutes, but it goes right back to the type of fun loving men on a mission film we wanted from the first. The team is on revenge mode here on out. From here we get more action sequences. A memorable introduction from Chuck Norris that will have the crowd hurting from laughter. I'm not lying when I say this is the best film Norris has been in, and he's seldom been used better. A majority of the squibs show up in the middle section. One bad guy is memorably dispatched by the entire Expendables crew in a scene that mimics the Robocop malfunction scene of ED-209. It's gratuitously violent, but hilarious (like a majority of the film).

The crew eventually meets up with Vilain at an airport. I won't spoil it, but it's an awesome mix of hand to hand combat and "Commando" style action. Norris mows down enemies with god like consistency. Walking through a torrent of bullets without a scratch. It is, again, hilarious because this is how it was done in the 80s. You can laugh it and still appreciate the giddy cartoonish nature of it. These guys make comic book heroes look like boring philosophical guilt ridden pansies. They relish the action as much as the audience do. Something missing in action cinema today.

The final showdown between Stallone and Van Damme is almost surreal to watch. A clash of titans that we all dreamed about as kids. To see it onscreen is almost like lightning striking the fond memories we have of these legends. They both move gracefully (even at their age). No sign of slowing down. Brute force displayed by both, and no stuntmen or CGI face BS. Real deal mano-e-mano. The film ends on a light hearted note after the mission is over. The team even sings their own hymn for a fallen soldier as they share beers with each other. A manly ending to a manly film. If you're a fan of these legends, you'll certainly be walking out of the cinema with a fat grin on your face. A must-see event for action fans, and a HUGE improvement over the original.